Page 202 of Halfblood Deceived

Crow lingered, his black eyes almost drilling holes into Aella. “You smell rather odd.”

Aella resisted the urge to sniff under her arms. “Er…”

Dandelion gasped and shoved him toward the door. “Crow! That was rude!”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” the goth said with a shrug.

The fey shook her head and gave Aella an apologetic look. “We’re still training him.”

Crow hissed. “Bugger off.”

Dandelion rolled her eyes, grabbed his wrist, and herded him out. “Let’s go before you say something worse, you weirdo.”

He growled. “You don’t get to call me weirdo, Dandelion…”

Aella laughed. They all reminded her of Zeydan and his family.

She suppressed a sigh, making a decision. The next time that Zeydan invited her to do anything, she was going to accept. No more being a chicken—

“A penny for your thoughts,” said a familiar voice.

Aella jolted, finding Zeydan leaning against a locker—her locker. “You… how?” He hadn’t come in through the room’s entrance door—which Luna and her friends had just used. And the back door that led to the alley could only be opened from the inside.

Zeydan pointed at the back door with his thumb. “I’m good at unlocking things with my mind and magic, as long as they’re not heavily warded.” He approached.

There was a certain feline elegance to him. Aella’s mouth went dry as her greedy eyes roamed his tall, athletic frame. He was hopelessly elegant in that suit. The width of his shoulders and his posture managed to exude lethal power and nonchalance all at once. She wanted to sink her fingers inside that luscious dark hair. She wanted his lips on hers.

What was the last thing he said? “That’s a cool skill,” Aella muttered.

Zeydan half smiled, coming to a stop two feet away from Aella.

She felt as if her body were gravitating toward him. “How, um, are you?”

“I can’t complain,” Zeydan said. “And you?”

“Can’t complain either,” Aella said.

Zeydan lifted his hand slowly, giving Aella the space to move. She didn’t.

Her body tightened with anticipation. Goddess. How could she feel the gentle brush of his fingers on the edge of her ear and cheek down to her very center?

Now that she knew exactly where that buzzing, desperate sensation was coming from, she almost wished Zeydan would touch her there. Her cheeks heated at the dirty thoughts.

Zeydan’s jade eyes widened slightly, his breathing deepening.

Get it together, you freak! Aella shouted at her body, but it wasn’t listening.

The back door smacked open, and Andreas peered in. “It’s been more than five minutes, Zeydan.” His brown eyes narrowed on Aella, a silent warning there.

She remembered all too well what he’d told her back in the bookshop. How protective he was of Zeydan. And she understood what he’d meant now. “If it’s only curiosity, don’t do it.” It was much more than curiosity. So much so that Aella was terrified of putting a name to it.

Zeydan turned to give Andreas such a look that the vampire disappeared as fast as he’d shown up.

Aella bit her lip, but a giggle escaped.

Zeydan smiled at her without showing his fangs. “We’ll talk tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes,” Aella agreed.

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